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Caleb grunts. “Uh, yeah, you will.”
“Fabric? Threads? A form?” I huff. “A sewing machine?” I shake my head. “I know you can do what you want with your money, but it’s not so easy to set up all of that so quickly here.”
Dalton chuckles. “Just you watch.”
Caleb takes Lauren’s hand. “She will have a gown she wants for this wedding. Cuz it’s gonna be her last.”
“At any rate, Lauren,” I tell her as I wait for the jealousy to fade over how much love they have for each other, “could you come over soon to start the design process?”
She agrees, and soon enough, we wrap up dinner and head home.
Caleb and Lauren simply walk over to the big house next door to the B&B, and Dalton drives me and Aubrey back to his property. Within minutes, Aubrey’s conks out, too sleepy from the big homecooked meal, I bet.
“Claire?”
I perk up at his voice. “Hmm?”
“Maybe you can go easy on Sawyer, huh?”
I roll my eyes. “He called you to tattle?”
He chuckles. “We’re all adults here. No tattling necessary. We were discussing projects and he expressed confusion about why I was renting out that cabin when I knew work was going on. So I explained that you’re not an ordinary guest but family.”
“Whatever. I don’t plan on running into him anymore.” And I already ordered the heaviest-duty headphones I could find online.
“He’s just doing his job. Keep that in mind the next time you happen to see him.”
I narrow my eyes at his smirking reflection in the mirror. I’m not sure I want to know the reason for that amused expression. Just what did Sawyer say to him about me?
I shake my head and turn back to the passenger window.
It doesn’t matter what his first impression of me is.
He’s not worth my curiosity.
Regardless of how strong it is.
Chapter 6
Claire
I enjoy my coffee on the deck, but it’s already looking to be a hot day. Last night at dinner, everyone was joking about how last summer was just so hot. Unusually hot, and this season seems just as warm. Paris could be uncomfortable at times, but I didn’t explore. I didn’t set out to vacation in France because I was so busy with my studies and working ahead on projects. The university was cool with the industrial air conditioning, but otherwise, I never noticed how sweltering it could be there.
Just as well that I’m not going on any hikes or anything. I only brought my coffee out here to avoid the sound of the squeaky fan in the living room. I have to add it to the list of other pesky items in the cabin. I know he’s letting me stay here to get out of my mother’s sight, so I hate to complain for the sake of not being treated to a five-star stay. He’s doing this as a favor, and I don’t want to sound ungrateful.
Before the sun can really rise and bake me anymore, I head inside. Jetlag still bothers me, but I have something important to look forward to today, something more rewarding than noticing the little odds and ends that stand out at this cabin or lamenting the warmth that’s preventing me from sitting out on the deck with my coffee.
Lauren’s coming over today, and I can’t wait. The chance to sink my teeth into a design excites me, and soon, I fall into a spell of impatience, wanting her to be here already. She arrives before too long, though, and I show her in.
“Hi, Claire!” She comes with me into the living room, where I left a notebook open on the coffee table. I can’t help but feel like a student, eager to please and ready to dive into what I studied so long and hard for.
“Thanks so much for offering to help me with this,” she says as she sits on the couch. “You cannot believe how challenging this is for me.”
“Because of the distance?” I ask. It feels like we’re in the middle of nowhere up in these mountains, but so much is online now, not in a studio or shop. That’s part of the magic, though, being immersed with the options of gowns. Maybe it just doesn’t feel the same being so remote up here.
“Well, yes. That, too.”
That too? She said it like that would be an afterthought, not a main point. What else?
